Go the All Whites.........as we go to San Sebastian

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Last night we thought we had two options set up to watch the big game between New Zealand and Bahrain,the winner of which would be going to the World Football Cup in South Africa next year.So when we awoke the first instinct was to try them both again and see what sort of online streaming of the TV we might be able to get.
The first we tried wasn’t any good but the second had sound and a picture that came and went making it rather difficult to see the game.
We noticed in the corner of the screen on the laptop that the TV link to the game was coming via EuroSports which we suddenly remembered was a channel available on the TV in our room.
We didn’t need the laptop with the unstable reception and picture as the game was right there on the TV !!!
We watched the first half from the luxury of our bed.When Rory Fallon scored with his head from a corner kick just before half time we went crazy cheering that we suddenly remembered that we might wake other guests up in the adjacent rooms with our commotion.
We took the opportunity to shower and get ready for the day when the half time came and then had breakfast during the second half.Mind you neither of us could watch the penalty that was saved in such a grand style by Mark Paston keeping New Zealand in the game.
When the final whistle went and New Zealand had won by 1-0 we hugged each other and danced ,yahooing around the room.You probably heard us in NZ,Australia,England and Scotland and wherever else you may be reading this.
We can both remember when NZ qualified for the 1982 World Cup finals and the hype that the beautiful game got in NZ at that time.We are sure it will be repeated all over again.We would dearly love to be there in South Africa so we shall just have to see what we can do about that!!!
We headed out today to San Sebastian proudly wearing our New Zealand shirts.
First though we called back at the free internet place in the village to try and print off the train tickets etc.However they were still having problems with their connection so we carried onto SS.
We are just 20 kilometres away and it is a straightforward run although the roads get a little complicated as you head into SS itself.With parking buildings clearly sign posted we found our way to one that just a couple of streets back from the foreshore promenade.
SS is essentially split in two with a river running down the middle.The beach we walked to first is the one that was getting the big surf from the deep weather depression that has been to the north of the Bay of Biscay for the past few days.There were dozens of surfies out in the very large swells waiting for a wave.It seems like the sea conditions are a bit unusual as there are lots of locals down with their camera taking photos.
There is a wide promenade along the beachfront and today with the sun out and the temperature in the low 20’s again there are a large number of people just strolling along taking in the view.
SS has that laid back feeling about it and is very relaxed.Even the traffic on the beachfront is light and there is little noise which makes the place quite inviting.
The waves are crashing up over the seawall at the point where the river empties into the ocean and that makes for some good video although trying to catch the ‘moment’is quite a task.
We crossed the bridge’to the other side of the city’and found an internet cafe and this time we did get the stuff we needed printed off done with the help of the woman running the place.
There is a wide boulvarde that runs parallel to the beachfront but a hill and several streets back.In this area is the old city and amongst the narrow alleyways there are dozens of local bars which serve pintxos,a local tapa.Gretchen had done the study on the protocol and she was geared up for us to have lunch dining by the local tradition.
A bar has plates of pintxos on the counter and patrons help themselves to what they would like to eat and when you are full you tell the barman how many pintxos you have had and pay the bill.This of course is all washed down with a beer or a local wine.
It didn’t take long for us to find one that wasn’t overfull with people and we got ourselves to a position at the end of the counter where we could observe what happened and then plunged in.First we tried a savoury filled piece of a baguette.Not very challenging but a taster to get the handle on what to do.
Second up we went our separate ways and tried something a bit more daring from the middle of the counter,Gretchen had a seafood thingee and I had something that had tomato and mushroom with a spicy flavour.For our third helping we reversed what we had each had in the second round and by this time with a beer also downed we were feeling quite satisfied.During all this we watched the locals devour offerings from all over the counter and carry on their conversations in a language we simply cannot understand.
The whole procedure works on honesty and we paid up our €13 for our lunch and went on to do something energetic to walk off the lunch.
The bar we had chosen was small and had been popular if the number of people in there was anything to go by but it was just as well we had chosen one when we did as the others we passed were full to overflowing in some instances.
We took a look inside the local Basilica which was very plain in design although for once it had a large amount of timber used in its construction of the interior.Timber just does not seem to something that has been used a lot in any constructions in most of Europe.
The hill that overlooks the town was the next target for us and we took the path that wound its way to the top where the views over the western part of the city,which we did not get to,were excellent including the ‘second’ beach of SS.There were also great views out to sea and the large swell rolling in from the Atlantic.
It had taken us over an hour to walk to the top of the hill and back and we came back through the old city area to try another bar and see what they had to offer in pintxos.This time we just had a couple each of very tasty fare and a glass of cold sangria to go with them.It is amazing how the whole thing works on an honesty basis when it comes time to pay up.
On the way back to the car park we couldn’t avoid a bakery shop and bought a quiche to have for dinner this evening along with the largest chocolate pastry that we have found on this adventure.We will of course share it for desert!!
It has been a memorable day starting with the All Whites winning their way to the World Cup finals in South Africa and than a day in laid back SS enjoying the local way of having a casual lunch of pintxos and seeing the sights of the downtown area on a warm sunny day.

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Comments

[Jo Trouble]

Yes! Go The All Whites!!
Not often anything overshadows the ABs :-)

[Rin]

SS
How funny to see a picture of the beach there with no people on it - it was packed in July 06 :-P And that photo of the Old City looks a lot like the street where I got my nose pierced...although they all look like that.